


Incandescent

by LoneWulffe



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: (a bit of everything really), F/M, Fluff and Humor, Minor Sanvers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-10
Updated: 2017-08-10
Packaged: 2018-12-13 16:38:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11764020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LoneWulffe/pseuds/LoneWulffe
Summary: Kara and Mon-El try their hand at dating like a normal couple. The universe, for the most part, does not oblige.





	Incandescent

**Author's Note:**

> No betas were mind-controlled into checking this fic so any errors you find are to be blamed on me alone.
> 
> Timeline-wise, this fic is set somewhere between the end of 2x17 and the start of 2x20 when our space puppies are being happy and no evil mother-in-law is getting in the way of said happiness.

> " _Even after all this time, the Sun never says to the Earth, 'You owe me.' Look what happens with a love like that. It lights the whole sky.” – Hafez_

 

“So,” Mon-El started in a casual conversational tone over dinner that completely failed to sound anything remotely casual, “do you have anything to do tomorrow?”

The question made Kara pause mid-chew and eye him suspiciously. Remembering her table manners in time, she made sure to swallow her mouthful of potato salad before speaking. “No...” she dragged out her response as she squinted at him from across the dining table.

“Sure?” he pressed as he studied her carefully and all but ignored her inquisitive tone. “No articles to write? No DEO meetings or briefings to attend? I'd ask about chores and groceries but we already did that today.”

“No and no,” she answered before taking advantage of the break in his pseudo-interrogation to ask her own question. “Mon-El, where are you going with this?”

He coughed theatrically as he dropped his gaze to his plate of spaghetti and aimlessly poked at it with his fork in a clear attempt to appear nonchalant. “Well... I've been thinking...”

She had to bite her tongue to prevent herself from blurting out 'A dangerous pastime' – they had only just started on Disney movies recently and she'd been the one to insist on watching them in chronological order instead of going by her list of favourites – and settled for a neutral, “About...?”

“According to Earth's courting customs, we're dating right?”

…Okay, she had not been expecting _that_. “Uhhhhh... yes?” she answered hesitantly, feeling self-conscious and even a little unsure of their relationship all of a sudden. “What... what's this about?”

Mon-El shrugged and finally met her gaze. His eyes glinted the way they always did when he was up to something, further confusing her. “Isn't that technically inaccurate since we haven't actually, you know, gone on a proper date before?”

The mental and emotional whiplash of two out-of-the-blue questions in quick succession left Kara floundering for a while before she finally realised what he was possibly trying to do. “Are you asking me out?” she hazarded as she tried to read his expression.

“Is that a yes?” he countered her question with one of his own as his face broke into his typical grin. It was infectious like always and she found herself smiling back as the illogical tension from before slipped away.

However, the affirmative response that had almost immediately spilled from her lips was halted in its tracks when a thought occurred to her and she almost cursed herself for having it in the middle of what was supposed to be a sweet moment.

Her internal crisis must have shown on her face because he stopped grinning – this time, she really did curse herself – and gave her a worried look. “You don't want to?”

“NO!” she all but yelled immediately, frantically waving her one free hand as she tried to assure him. “No, it's not that, I swear! It's just...” she trailed off, unsure how to voice her concerns.

“Just...?” Mon-El prompted her gently. His concerned gaze did not waver even for a second.

It was ridiculous but she owed it to him to be truthful about all her worries so Kara let out a sigh as she tried to find the right words. “I know it sounds stupid but I feel like us going on a date is going to invite trouble somehow. Not directly, I mean, but more like in a 'the universe hates us and won't let us have any peace' way.” She furrowed her brow. “Does that make sense?”

“Ah,” he nodded sagely. “As in the world will always need Supergirl to save the day and the moment you try to have some time to yourself will be the exact moment when Supergirl is needed.”

“Exactly.”

However, this only seemed to make Mon-El even more determined judging by the look on his face as he leaned over to grab her hand. “But what if I told you I have a solution for that?” Her confusion must have been evident so he hurried to explain. “I've got plans and backups for the whole day. In fact, my backup plans have backup plans. I have, as they put it, all the bases covered.”

That was both really sweet and kind of scarily excessive. “I don't know...” she hedged even as she felt her misgivings gradually dissipate at the earnest expression on his face. “I have this sinking feeling that having that many plans is like issuing an invitation to have twice as many disasters befall National City.”

Kara regretted her words immediately when she saw his smile turn upside down. “Is that a no?” he asked, clearly doing his best to sound neutral even though she knew how much this was affecting him – how much he clearly seemed to want it but refused to push her into agreeing to it.

It was the final straw and the last of her reservations crumbled to dust. “Maybe it would help if you asked me properly,” she teased lightly as she allowed a small smile to form on her lips.

His face scrunched in confusion – always an adorable look on him – and she could almost see the wheels turning in his head before it finally clicked and he realised what she was saying. “Well then,” he murmured as he matched her smile with his own, “Kara Zor-El, will you go out with me?”

The whole situation was actually rather ridiculous but that fact did nothing to quell the butterflies in her stomach. “Yes,” she giggled as she leaned over to peck him on the lips. “Yes, I will go out with you.” Her subsequent giggles were muffled when he was the one to close the gap between their mouths this time.

As she kissed him back, their dinner forgotten for the moment, Kara mentally prayed to Rao and any other god who might be listening that Mon-El's date plans would go smoothly.

 

* * *

 

At precisely 12:01am that night, they were roused from their sleep by a loud explosion originating from the industrial district of National City and damage control consumed the better part of an hour even with her help.

Kara tried really really hard not to see it as a sign of what the rest of the day was going to be like.

 

* * *

 

The next time she woke up on Sunday, it was at a respectable hour and the smell of something delicious being cooked in the kitchen greeted her. It took her only a few seconds to remember their – or, to be more specific, Mon-El's – plans and smile to herself. He had been surprisingly secretive about what exactly he had in mind for their date, adamantly refusing to tell her anything no matter how much she'd cajoled, begged and at one point even made a rather poor attempt to seduce the information out of him. (He'd nearly cracked at that last attempt – whether because it had almost worked or she'd just looked ridiculous, she didn't want to know – but had somehow managed to stand his ground in the end, much to her frustration.)

Now that the day had officially begun, she was going to find out... and she would be lying if she said she wasn't kind of excited. It was thus with no small amount of eagerness that she leapt out of bed and made a beeline for the kitchen where she found a certain Daxamite making a fresh batch of French toast. Her arrival did not go unnoticed as he looked up and smiled. “Morning!”

“Good morning to you too,” she beamed and pecked him on the cheek as she none-too-sneakily swiped a piece of French toast. “So now that it's actually morning in the traditional the-sun-has-actually-risen way and not the just-past-midnight way, are you finally going to tell me what you have planned for our date?” she asked in-between bites.

At her question, Mon-El's smile somehow managed to widen. “I am very glad you asked.” He punctuated his statement by making a show of handing her a cup of coffee and received another quick kiss of gratitude as payment. “There's this place I heard about from one of the regulars at the bar that is apparently really popular – apparently they cook your food at your table with a blowtorch, can you believe that? – and I thought we could give it a try. They're only open for breakfast and tea though so we should probably leave soon.”

Kara frowned. “Breakfast?” she echoed, glancing down at the food in front of her briefly before looking back at him in confusion. “If you were planning a breakfast date, why did you make all this?”

He looked at her as if she was the one acting strangely. “But I always make breakfast now. I _love_ making breakfast for you. Besides, I didn't make a lot... and it's not like eating too much is a problem for either of us,” he pointed out.

She had to concede his points. Most of all, she definitely did not want to stand in the way of him improving his culinary skills; her boyfriend was turning out to be a genius in the kitchen much to her immense delight.

“Also,” he added, his voice taking on a more sheepish tone as he untied his apron and put it away, “considering there's a high chance you'll have to do some superhero-ing at some point today I figured I'd start early to maximise our chances of having at least one uninterrupted date.”

That earned him a raised eyebrow. “I'm guessing this is what you meant by having lots of backup plans.”

He hummed affirmatively. “But we don't have to go through them all,” he was quick to interject. “Anytime you think we should call it a day or something, just say the word, okay? I don't want to force you or anything-”

“Mon-El,” she cut him off as she reached over to clasp his hands. “I said yes, didn't I? I want to have a nice normal date with you too. Or, you know, as close to normal as we're likely to get anyway.”

As usual, the sight of his joyful grin warmed her from the inside out. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” she murmured, squeezing his hands in reassurance and smiling just as brightly back at him. Even if the date didn't work out as intended, she had a feeling that she'd enjoy herself anyway.

 

* * *

 

As it turned out, the restaurant's popularity had not been an exaggeration; nearly all the tables had been taken by the time they arrived even though it was still rather early in the morning. The two of them were lucky enough to snag a small table near the centre and while it wasn't exactly ideal seating for a date, beggars couldn't be choosers.

Kara eyed the décor while Mon-El, having failed to flag down a waiter who wasn't busy tending to another customer or carrying heavy plates, tried unsuccessfully to snag menus for them to browse. The place looked and felt like a cross between a cafe and a classic diner which was a certainly interesting mix that somehow worked although certain parts looked like they could use some repair work. On the plus side, there were no scorch marks anywhere in sight – to be honest, she'd been a little worried the moment blowtorches had first been mentioned – and a quick scan with her X-ray vision confirmed that the sprinklers, despite being a little beat up, worked.

“Yes!” Mon-El's pleased exclamation drew her back to the present and she looked back down to find a menu being slid in front of her. “Here, have a look and choose anything you think looks good.”

Eyeing the items listed, she found herself rather glad that she had her alien metabolism. “I honestly feel like trying everything,” she confessed mournfully; only the knowledge that she would definitely draw too much attention to herself by ordering every single item stopped her.

“Like I said, just pick whatever you like,” Mon-El chuckled. “We'll pretend half of it is my share. That way you can sample more of the dishes. We can come back here another day to try whatever else you're interested in.”

“So... does that mean another date here in the future?” she asked, a smile slowly forming on her lips.

The grin he offered her in return was equally tentative. “If you want.”

Their little moment was promptly ruined by a series of unexpected events.

Kara's ears picked up the sound of someone skidding behind her and turned just in time to see a customer who'd been in a rush to leave slipping on a puddle of spilled coffee on the floor. Arms flailing comically, the teenager crashed into a waiter in the process of cooking someone's breakfast for them who in turn bumped into another waiter carrying a stack of dirty plates. Her superhero instincts kicked in and she immediately reached out to steady the customer and the first waiter while Mon-El all but leaped out of his own seat to catch both the second waiter and prevent the plates from crashing to the floor.

That particular crisis averted, both of them looked up in unison to watch the forgotten blowtorch the first waiter had unwittingly thrown upwards when he'd stumbled sail through the air as if in slow motion...

…and hit the overhead sprinkler at full blast.

“Oh Rao,” she breathed at the same moment Mon-El muttered “Grife” under his breath.

 

* * *

 

Flopping down on the couch, Kara allowed herself to heave the most resigned sigh that she could muster at that moment as she waited for her hair to dry. Walking back to her apartment while soaked to the bone had been uncomfortable enough; she took small comfort in the fact that her alien physiology had prevented her from feeling the resulting chill.

“You know,” Mon-El remarked as he exited the bedroom while shrugging on a clean shirt, “of all the ways I expected any of our dates to be interrupted, 'getting drenched by sprinklers triggered by a flying blowtorch' didn't quite make the top ten list.”

She groaned and buried her face into the nearest cushion. “We didn't even get to the ordering stage,” she complained, her words muffled by her current position. Her stomach rumbled as if it too was protesting having been denied food.

“Next time, we'll sabotage the sprinklers the day before we go,” he suggested half-seriously with a soft laugh. The couch dipped, indicating that he'd sat down next to her, and she shifted to accommodate him. If that happened to result in them being one step away from cuddling... well, neither of them said anything. “On a more serious note, I'm sorry.”

“It's not your fault,” she was quick to respond, looking up to meet his apologetic gaze with her defiant one. “No one could've predicted something like that happening, okay? And it's not like you caused it to happen so don't blame yourself.”

He held up his hands in mock surrender. “Okay, okay. Still, you're obviously hungry, it's just past noon and... well, I did have a lunch date as a backup plan...”

“See?” she beamed, her mood changing for the better almost instantly. “A solution to our problem and a chance to not let another of your plans go to waste. Two birds with one stone.”

That elicited a smile from him. “Okay then. Lunch date it is. Whenever you're ready to go.”

She raised an eyebrow at him and poked him in the ribs for good measure. “And what's wrong with right now, mister? You said it yourself; I'm hungry.”

“Yes,” he noted with mock seriousness, “your stomach informed me as much a few seconds ago. In fact, I think everyone in this building heard it.” He maintained his stoic facade through her outraged gasp but lost his composure when the cushion made contact with his face. He kept laughing even as she dragged him to his feet and out the door. (If anyone had asked, she would have denied laughing along with him.)

 

* * *

 

Once they were out the apartment, Mon-El thankfully stopped playing around and took the lead, flagging down a cab and giving the driver an address close to one of the older districts of National City. As curious as she was, Kara managed to hold her tongue until they arrived outside a charming Parisian-style restaurant complete with parasol-covered tables on the pavement. It was like she'd been transported to the heart of France itself.

“How did I not know this place existed before you?” she gaped while Mon-El busied himself with paying the cab driver. “I'm the one who's lived in this city for years! You've only been here – on this planet, no less! – for months!”

His cheeky grin would've warranted an elbow in the ribs if she wasn't still frozen in albeit pleasant shock. “Is Kara Danvers, ace reporter-”

“That's an exaggeration,” she cut in with a self-conscious blush.

“-admitting that there are things that regular Mike Matthews can find out before her?” he continued without missing a beat.

“I've never claimed to know everything,” she muttered a little defensively as she allowed him to gently push her towards the entrance.

“Nope,” he conceded bemusedly, “you just make it sound like you do most of the time. I understand it's a Kryptonian thing.” He murmured the last part softly enough that only she could pick up the words.

This time she really did elbow him in the ribs. “Trust a Daxamite to focus on finding the best places for self-indulgence instead of learning how to fill out his DEO paperwork properly,” she shot back without any real venom as she directed a smile at the host standing at the entrance.

“Welcome to the Riviera. Will you be dining with us today?” the host – Julie, according to her name-tag – asked cheerfully.

“Yes,” Mon-El responded smoothly, giving the girl his trademark suave grin. “Table for two, please. Preferably outside.”

“Certainly!” Julie chirped, her sudden blush marking her as the latest in a long line of individuals who had fallen victim to Mon-El's admittedly irresistible charm. “This way please.”

“Thank you.” As the woman turned away to lead them to an empty table, Mon-El took the opportunity to press a soft and quick kiss to Kara's temple. “One, you benefit from my talent for finding these places and you like it. Two, you hate DEO paperwork as much as I do. Your exact complaint every single time we have to stay back to do it, I believe, is that there's too much of it and we shouldn't have to do it in the first place because we aren't even official employees.”

“I still think Alex is the one pushing for it just to be mean and J'onn lets her get away with it,” she grumbled petulantly even as she fought to keep a smile from spreading across her face. She pointedly chose not to address his first statement but based on the grin he shot her as he pulled her seat out for her, a response wasn't necessary. Deciding to be magnanimous about it, she allowed herself to be distracted by the list of mouth-watering items on the menu. Not that it stopped her from kicking him under the table when he laughed at her for ordering enough food for three people. (She also chose to ignore the waiter's wide-eyed look as he jotted everything down; she was hungry, damn it.)

Even so, the atmosphere was too positive for her to hold on to her childish grudge and it was not long before they were talking about the latest developments in the ongoing drama that was the feud between the DEO's IT and Accounting departments. Conversation flowed easily and freely like it always did in these moments as they jumped from one topic to another and continued even as their food arrived, punctuated by both of them taking turns chiding the other for speaking with their mouth full.

Halfway through the meal, Kara made the mistake of idly noting how well the date was going thus far.

That was when a loud crash accompanied by the screeching sound of metal scraping against metal and a muffled roar of sorts reached their ears.

Mon-El met her alert gaze with his own resolute one and they leapt to their feet as the other customers at the restaurant began gathering to see what had caused the commotion. In the midst of the growing crowd, she managed to dash away unnoticed into the nearest alleyway while he hurriedly dropped a few bills on the table before heading towards the source of the noise.

Thanks to her speed, Kara was able to change into her Supergirl suit and meet up with Mon-El just as he arrived at the source of the earlier and ongoing racket which turned out to be a clearly-not-abandoned warehouse-sized building located further down the road from the Riviera's location. They spared each other a glance, nodded in unison and then kicked the unsurprisingly reinforced doors open together.

The sight that greeted them filled her with both sadness and anger.

Rows and rows of cages of varying sizes lined the walls and a quick scan with her X-ray vision revealed a wide range of wildlife from Earth as well as several other planets. She even recognised a few species which she knew for a fact had been considered endangered when she had still been on Krypton.

“It's Supergirl!” The loud exclamation drew her attention to the centre of the makeshift warehouse where the initial commotion that had drawn her and Mon-El here had originated: a small group of humans and aliens were struggling to contain a large four-legged beast with light green mottled skin and two pairs of horns that had somehow managed to break out of its cage.

Next to her, Mon-El muttered a curse in his native tongue. “How did they manage to get a Sparcorn here?”

It was a question she wanted answered as well but that was going to have to wait as several of their opponents began training their very obviously alien guns on them. “Looks like we're going to have to deal with these guys first before we get to find out.”

“On it.” With that, Mon-El super-sped to the nearest armed thug and delivered a spectacular uppercut that sent him and his weapon sailing through the air. Kara herself decided to start off by using her heat vision to melt one of the other brute's guns before flying into the fray herself.

Unfortunately, their battle with the criminals had an unintended and inevitable consequence: the number of people who had been keeping the Sparcorn restrained dramatically decreased, allowing the enraged creature to shake off the chains wrapped around its neck and body. Justifiably alarmed, its captors tried to flee but were too slow and found themselves promptly flung aside like rag-dolls.

The situation was taking a turn for the worse and she had to make a snap decision. “Can you handle these guys by yourself?” she called out to Mon-El.

He ducked a meaty fist that had been homing in on his face and responded to his attacker with a mean right hook. “I've got this! Take care of the Sparcorn!”

Trusting him to hold his own despite being outnumbered, Kara quickly grabbed the creature's chains and used her heat vision to melt them to the wrecked cage it had obviously been housed in. As much as it pained her to do it, she could not allow it to escape the building and run rampant in the city where it would undoubtedly hurt someone.

Her actions only served to further aggravate the Sparcorn which trashed wildly in an effort to free itself, forcing her to grab its larger pair of horns – based on their size and length, this was most likely a female – and try to keep it from hurting itself further. “Please, calm down!” she begged as she looked imploringly into its wild eyes. “I'm trying to help!”

But no matter how much she willed it, nothing could change the fact that the creature couldn't understand her and all she could do was keep it pinned down. Even as she did her level best not to harm it herself, she could only stand there helplessly as she heard its violently erratic heartbeat go faster and faster...

…until it finally stopped and the Sparcorn fell gracelessly to the ground, and Kara felt her own heart break at the injustice of it all.

 

* * *

 

“Intergalactic poachers,” Alex muttered, her disgust at the situation clear in her voice. “As if people smuggling Earth wildlife wasn't already a big enough headache.”

“I don't understand,” Kara murmured almost to herself as she stared listlessly at the lifeless body of the Sparcorn. Someone had been considerate enough to cover it with a large piece of tarpaulin but it hadn't been enough to erase the knowledge of what lay underneath. Beside her, Mon-El had his right arm wrapped around her waist and his thumb rubbed soothing circles into her side she could feel through the fabric of her suit as he whispered comforting words into her hair. “Why would something like this be happening here on Earth?”

“Apparently knowledge of our little planet's existence and its status as a refuge for aliens has made it a perfect place for the scumbags of the universe to use as a trading post.” Maggie grimaced, clearly displeased with the fact that she knew the answer so well. “There're a wide range of reasons. For one, it's not like we can monitor these kinds of shipments easily so these guys think nothing of trafficking all sorts of goods in and out of here. Then there are some of the aliens who set up residence here that want a taste of home – literally in certain cases – and are willing to pay good money to get it. We've also been noticing a lot of human buyers eager to, shall we say, 'upgrade' their idea of exotic pet ownership and you have this mess.”

It was unlike her to have such a thought but Kara felt like giving both the aliens and humans currently being led away in handcuffs another beat-down. She had put a little more force than usual behind her punches when she'd fought the rest of the poachers but it had done little to make her feel better about what had happened. Allowing herself to lean into Mon-El, she let out a soft sigh and glanced at the mix of cops and DEO agents checking on the animals that had been caged up.

One in particular caught her eye and she immediately straightened. “Is that...?” she trailed off, unsure if her eyes were playing tricks on her.

At her exclamation, Mon-El looked over and did a double-take himself. “A Snoola!” he confirmed with a blinding grin. “Ka- Supergirl, come on!” He tugged her in the direction of the smaller cages and she went along willingly, feeling her mood shift to one of near-childish glee.

“Sorry, a what now?” Alex called out, completely mystified at the sudden change in the demeanour of both the aliens as she and Maggie followed them. By the time they'd caught up to the couple, they found them being seemingly attacked by one of the most bizarre alien lifeforms she'd ever seen.

“What the hell is that?” she blurted out, staring at what looked like a pink koala with two pairs of wings that were buzzing like a hummingbird's and abnormally long limbs which it had wrapped around both her adoptive sister and her boyfriend. It looked like it had them locked in a really tight and awkward-looking hug but based on the ecstatic grins on both their faces and the strange purring-like sound it was emitting, no one seemed to be in any immediate danger.

...Were her eyes deceiving her or was it actually... _glowing_?

“Alex! Look, look!” Kara was behaving the way she usually did when she saw a puppy which was endearing if not for the fact that she was acting that way about something that looked like... _that_. “A Snoola!”

“Yeah, that doesn't explain anything at all,” the older Danvers sister commented drily. She quietly noted that the sight before her was rather humorous and had potential as blackmail material. With their arms trapped by the creature's own and their heads looking like they'd been glued together, they made for quite the comical sight.

Mon-El laughed. “It's like a living... what do you call it?... mood ring?” At Kara's affirmative nod, he continued explaining. “They're really docile and only found on this particular planet in the Mimidon galaxy. Quite a few civilisations – Krypton and Daxam included – would send people to study them for various reasons but everyone came to an agreement that no one was to do anything that could potentially affect the ecosystem. They even went so far as to draft proper legislation according to the intergalactic treaty rules.”

“I'm guessing the story doesn't end there,” Maggie remarked as she crossed her arms, clearly intrigued herself.

Grimacing a little, Mon-El nodded. “No one's really sure what happened or who was responsible but less than a decade after all the planets involved signed the agreement, one of the expedition teams landed on the planet and found that something had contaminated the environment somehow. A lot of the local flora and fauna had mutated and become... well, it wasn't pretty to say the least. The Snoola population was probably affected the worst; a large number of them had turned violent and started attacking the non-infected ones.” His eyes lit up as a thought occurred to him. “It's kind of like Kremlins – you know, that movie about that cute fluffy thing that spawned ugly versions of itself when it got wet and stuff.”

“Gremlins,” the three women present – even Kara who was busy doing nothing but cooing at and petting the pink ball of fur currently glued to her – corrected him in unison.

He shrugged. “Anyway,” he continued as he looked down at the Snoola clinging to him, “they immediately got put on the intergalactic version of the Endangered Species List and not a single one is supposed to be taken off-planet. I don't think that's changed since I was last on Daxam so someone must have paid a hefty sum to get their hands on this guy.”

If he had anything else to say about the topic at hand, it was forgotten when a flash blinded him. Blinking away the spots in his vision, he looked up to find Alex grinning smugly as she snapped yet another photo with her phone. “I've been meaning to say this since this started but you guys look ridiculous with that thing hanging off you. Mom is _so_ going to enjoy seeing these pictures.”

“Alex, don't you dare!” Kara growled although the threatening tone of her voice was somewhat negated by said awkward pose.

“Oh, I so dare,” Alex taunted while Maggie looked on in silent amusement, evidently deciding that it was safer to stay out of this. “And you can't stop me.”

Fuming, Kara glanced meaningfully at Mon-El who, to his credit, only took a few seconds to figure out what she was up to and grinned back. As one, they tickled the Snoola which let out a sound akin to a happy squeal and promptly released them.

Then they grabbed the creature and all but tossed it at Alex.

“Wh-” Startled by the unexpected attack, Alex instinctively held up her hands in an attempt to block it. Unfortunately for her, her actions only resulted in her arms getting pinned in the most uncomfortable position possible against her body when the Snoola all but cocooned her. To make matters worse, her face ended up being practically buried in its now vibrantly glowing red fur. “Get it off me!”

“Nope,” Kara responded cheekily, popping the 'p' for good measure as she deftly plucked her sister's phone out of her hands and proceeded to gleefully snap photos of the spectacle. Next to her, Mon-El looked like he was about to collapse in laughter and Maggie was only slightly better off. “If Mom's getting any photos of me with the Snoola, it's only fair that she gets some with you and it too.”

“Stop joking around, Kara!” Alex yelled, forgetting to call her sister by her superhero name in her fury. “You pull this thing off me right this second or so help me-”

“Oh no, I think I heard a... uh... car accident on the other side of the city,” Kara fibbed as she tossed the phone to Mon-El for safekeeping. “Gotta go save the world! Bye!” With those parting words, she quickly grabbed her boyfriend-slash-accomplice and flew out the door, both of them giggling like little children all the way.

“WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING?! GET BACK HERE RIGHT THIS MINUTE, YOU TWO! AND STOP LAUGHING, MAGGIE! THIS ISN'T FUNNY AT ALL!”

 

* * *

 

Stretched out on the couch with her legs draped over Mon-El's lap, Kara let out a soft sigh. After their daring escape from Alex's wrath which she was sure they were going to have to face eventually, they'd had to make up for their unfinished lunch by eating from a nearby food truck – not the most romantic of options, but it wasn't as if they could go back to the restaurant for a number of reasons – and going through the rest of Mon-El's backup plans.

Each and every attempt was subsequently thwarted.

A trip to the park had ended with Supergirl needing to save a family that had gotten stranded in the middle of the lake after losing their paddles.

When they'd tried to attend a locally-produced play that had gotten pretty good reviews, they'd had to leave within the first half-hour to foil a bank robbery taking place a few blocks away.

Even the trip back to her apartment afterwards had been interrupted by a runaway car that had gone out of control thanks to its faulty brakes.

Now it was evening and Mon-El looked like he was ready to give up on the whole thing. She couldn't let that happen. Not when he'd clearly put so much effort into it.

“Hey.” She nudged his ribs with her toe to get him to look at her. “I hope you planned something for dinner because I think I'm hungry again.”

The look he gave her was half cautious and half disbelieving. “You still want to give this date thing another shot? After everything that's happened?”

She shrugged and offered him a soft smile. “I feel like we've managed to use up all our bad luck today already, so. Plus, we still need to eat either way.”

“True,” he conceded and his own smile slowly returned. “Okay then. Wash up and wear something nice then we'll head out.”

Her curiosity piqued, she sat up and squinted at him as if she could read his mind if she concentrated hard enough. “Why? Are we going somewhere fancy?”

“You'll find out when we get there,” was his enigmatic answer as he ushered her into her bedroom before taking his leave to get his own change of clothes at the DEO.

Rifling through her wardrobe, Kara had to admit that out of all the dates they'd gone on that day, this was the one that felt the most like a classic date-date. The fact that he was essentially going to return in a moment and pick her up only re-enforced the feeling.

It was thus with no small amount of excitement and second-guessing that she finally settled on a dark blue sleeveless dress sparingly decorated with pictures of nightingales in mid-flight that had languished untouched since the day she'd bought in on a whim during a sale months ago. Her timing proved to be impeccable because no sooner had she finished putting her hair up in a tidy bun than the sound of a familiar knock reached her ears.

Opening the door revealed none other than Mon-El, now wearing a freshly ironed light blue dress shirt, dark blue tie, black pants and matching belt. The way he looked at her made her feel... _everything_.

“Beautiful,” he murmured as he locked gazes with her.

“You don't look too bad yourself,” she teased lightly in return.

The spell broken for the time being, he smiled and wordlessly held out his arm. The crook of her elbow fit seamlessly into the space created by his like it was meant to be and she let him take the lead.

 

* * *

 

Kara had been understandably curious when they had stepped out of her apartment building but by the time they were turning a corner to walk down a back alley in one of National City's small arts districts, she was a heartbeat away from begging for some hint as to where exactly where it was they were going. Just as she opened her mouth to ask for an explanation of some kind, however, Mon-El brought them to a halt in front of a door that looked no different from the handful they'd already passed.

“We're here,” he announced, flashing her a smile as he rapped a specific rhythm on the metal surface.

The door opened to reveal an alarmingly tall and burly-looking dark-haired man dressed in all black. Recognition flashed across his face at the sight of Mon-El and he wordlessly stepped aside to let them pass.

“Was that... a bouncer? And did you just use a secret code to get us in?” she whispered in bewilderment as Mon-El continued to guide her down a short sparsely-lit hallway and towards a curtained-off area. Exactly what kind of establishment had he brought her to?

Then he pushed the curtain aside and the sight that greeted her both answered her unasked question and stole her breath away.

The first thing she noticed was the décor which made her flash back to the musical dream sequence she had been trapped in alongside Barry by the Music Meister. Then there was the small stage at the back of the restaurant where a band was playing a soothing melody while apparently waiting for their star vocalist to return from a likely well-deserved break. Meanwhile, the customers – a mix of humans and aliens – quietly ate their meals, their chatter so subdued that it all registered as mere background noise.

“You like it?” Mon-El's hushed question brought her back to the present and she turned to look at him. Even in the low lighting, she could see a tinge of trepidation in his eyes and smile. “I know you didn't exactly have the best time in that world you got sent to so I figured you might want to have a happy memory to replace it or something but if this makes you uncomfortable-”

She cut him off with a kiss. “This is fine,” she said when she pulled away and was pleased to find that his smile this time was filled with nothing but warmth. “Better than fine, even. I love it. Now come on, let's get a table and start eating because I want us to be able to finish our food this time.”

He chuckled as he followed both her and the waiter who had been waiting to direct them to their table. “I think you might have just jinxed us by saying that.”

Even so, it seemed like either the universe had decided it had messed with them enough for the day or Rao himself had finally listened to their prayers because there were no interruptions at all to be had throughout their meal. Feeling relaxed and carefree, Kara allowed the day's many mishaps and life's troubles in general to fade from her mind as she and Mon-El talked freely about whatever popped into their heads.

Just as they were finishing their main course, an awed hush fell over the entire restaurant. Kara looked up to find everyone staring at the stage where a stunning woman with flame-red hair and wearing a shimmering gold dress with a large feathered collar had just walked up to the microphone stand. On cue, the band began playing a different tune as several of the other couples got up from their tables and began to drift to the open space in front of the stage.

“May I have this dance?” Kara was a little startled to find Mon-El out of his seat as well and at her side with his hand outstretched. “Consider this me making up for that interrupted dance at Lena's party.”

“It's not like you caused the chaos yourself,” she remarked even as she got up and slipped her hand into his before they both made their way to the dance floor. “But I won't object to a do-over.” Based on the music, she guessed that it was going to be a slow number so she wrapped her arms around his neck while he placed his hands on her waist.

_Seconds march into the past_  
_The moments pass_  
_And just like that they're gone_

The vocalist's voice was immensely powerful yet soothing and Kara let her mind drift as they swayed to the music. Eyes sliding shut, she moved closer to Mon-El until the space between their bodies became non-existent.

_The river always finds the sea_  
_So helplessly_  
_Like you find me_

“I can practically hear you thinking,” he murmured, drawing her out of her reverie. “Care to tell me what's going on in that head of yours?”

_We are paper boats floating on a stream_  
_And it would seem_  
_We'll never be apart_

Looking into his storm-grey eyes, her somewhat disconnected thoughts from a few seconds ago crystallised into a realisation that made her heart hurt for a multitude of reasons. “You. Me. Us.”

_I will always find you_  
_Like it's written in the stars_  
_You can run, but you can't hide_  
_Try_

Her disjointed words drew a chuckle out of him. “Can I ask for some clarification or am I supposed to try and guess?” he teased lightly.

_Like the moon that makes the tides_  
_That silent guide_  
_Is calling from inside_

“It's just...” Kara trailed off as she struggled to find the right words. “Do you ever think about how we even got here? How everything had to happen just the way it did for us to even meet?”

_Pull me here and push me there_  
_It's everywhere_  
_Hanging in the air_

Sensing that she had more to say, Mon-El kept quiet and conveyed his silent encouragement by giving her waist a gentle squeeze. Emboldened by his support, she freely gave voice to the rest of her thoughts. “People might say that it was nothing more than a series of coincidences but... I don't think so.”

_We are magnets pulling from different poles_  
_With no control_  
_We'll never be apart_

“My pod getting knocked off course into the Phantom Zone. Being there for 24 years while Kal grew up on Earth without me there to guide him like I was supposed to before I finally arrived here and got placed with the Danvers. Moving to National City. Becoming Supergirl.”

 _I will always find you_  
_Like it's written in the stars_  
_You can run, but you can't hide_  
_Try_

“Then there's you. The pod being there on Daxam.” She tightened her grip around his shoulders as she said the words, silently reassuring him that she had truly stopped holding that part of his life against him. “It taking you into the Well of Stars. Getting stuck there for so much longer. Then finally breaking free and landing not just on Earth but _here_ – National City. My city.”  
  
_I will always, always find you_  
_I will always_  
_I will always, always find you_  
_I will always_

“And now here we are... at roughly the same age, no less. Just a boy from Daxam and a girl from Krypton,” she repeated his words from what felt like a lifetime ago when they had taken their first tentative step towards a future neither of them could have ever possibly imagined. “Together.”  
  
_I will always find you_  
_Like it's written in the stars_  
_We can run, but we can't hide_  
_Try_

The tentative smile that bloomed across his face made her heart skip a beat and then another for good measure. “So what are you saying?” he asked softly, his eyes half-closed and his breath ghosting across her face as he leaned in. “That we were destined to find each other?”  
  
_I will always find you_  
_Like it's written in the stars_  
_We can run, but we can't hide_  
_Try_

Feeling helpless to resist the all-too-familiar pull that seemed to always draw them together, she let herself get caught up in the moment as she tilted her head upwards and further closed the gap between their lips. “Yeah,” she murmured, her voice barely a whisper. “I guess I am.”  
  
_I will always, always find you_  
_I will always_

They met in the middle, and the world faded away.

 

* * *

 

Considering they had managed to see this particular date through to the end without having it interrupted by any criminal or alien activity, Kara felt so blissfully content and overwhelmingly happy that she practically had to remind herself to walk and not float in the air.

Bizarrely, it was why she was utterly unsurprised when the universe decided to have the last laugh as they were making their way back to her apartment.

“Gimme yer money an' jewl'ry,” their would-be mugger who had stepped out of the shadows growled almost incoherently as he pointed his gun at them.

At the sight of the weapon, Kara instinctively stepped in front of Mon-El with her arms spread out. Despite his training and her own confidence in his abilities, she still got rather twitchy whenever a regular firearm was aimed at him. (She still had the occasional nightmare where they were back in Cadmus' clutches except unlike reality, Lillian had gone through with her threat to shoot him in the heart and she'd been powerless to do anything but watch him bleed to death.)

Her actions drew a condescending sneer from the thug threatening them. “Whassa matter? You a sissy, lettin' yer gurl figh' for ya?” he jeered at Mon-El.

Mon-El merely shrugged casually although she could feel his body tense a little in preparation for a possible fight. “What can I say? My girlfriend's pretty super,” he quipped and barely reacted when she subtly stepped on his toes for the awful joke.

She was in the midst of weighing the pros and cons of using some of her powers to get them out of this mess, potentially exposing her secret, or just handing over their valuables when Mon-El solved the problem in the most absurd but ingenious move possible.

Looking upwards into the night sky and widening his eyes in pretend shock, he pointed at a spot behind and above the mugger's head. “Look!” he cried out. “It's Supergirl!”

“Wha-” Panicking, the mugger turned and swung his gun in the direction Mon-El had indicated.

Kara took the opportunity to sock the thug in the jaw and felt immensely better about the whole situation as she watched him crumple to the ground in a heap.

 

* * *

 

“Well, that was an exciting way to end our date,” Mon-El commented lightly as they walked down the hallway leading to her apartment. They had managed to find a beat cop patrolling the area a block away and handed over the unconscious mugger before continuing their journey home.

“I would've preferred it to have been completely boring and uneventful but I guess that was too much to ask for,” she sighed as she fished around in her purse for her keys. At least it hadn't been anything more serious such as a bank robbery and for that she was thankful. “I wish Winn would hurry up with making your suit though. I'll feel a lot better when I can stop worrying so much about you getting hit by a stray bullet.”

“It's fine. We shouldn't rush him and it's not that much of a priority. In the meantime, the caviar should be good enough,” he remarked as she unlocked the door and they entered.

The sentence seemed so random and unusual that it took Kara a moment to realise the problem. “I think you mean 'Kevlar',” she corrected him with a wry smile which softened involuntarily when she dropped her purse on the kitchen island and spun around to face him. “So...”

He lingered at the entryway for a moment before coming closer and wrapping his arms around her waist. “So,” he echoed. “Good date?”

“Great date,” she corrected him as she slid her hands up his chest and around his neck to pull him down for a kiss which started off sweet but got significantly more heated by the second.

It was therefore a bit of a rude shock when he suddenly broke it off and loosened his grip as if to move away. “Good,” he chirped. “Well, I'd better go then.”

Wait, what? “Wait, what?” she blurted out incredulously as he stepped backwards in the direction of the still-open door.

The look Mon-El gave her was so full of false innocence that she immediately felt like hitting him. “I mean, that counted as our first date since the rest were interrupted, right? And my research says that a good first date ends with a goodnight kiss and the guy leaving.”

It took an immense amount of effort on Kara's part to just glare dangerously at him and not use her heat vision. His impish grin was not helping with her impulse control. “Ha ha,” she growled as she reached for his tie and yanked him back to her. “Not funny.”

His laughter, muffled as it was against her lips, made kissing a little more difficult than usual but he was at least sensible enough to kick the door shut before they moved further inside. “It was a little funny,” he argued cheekily as he expertly unpinned her bun so that he could run his fingers through her hair.

“Not.” She tugged his belt free and tossed it aside without caring where it landed before working on his tie. “Besides, you're wrong.”

He hummed questioningly if a bit distractedly into the kiss, breaking it so he could press his mouth against the underside of her jaw. “Wrong about what?” he asked as his fingers slid the straps of her dress off her shoulders.

“Doesn't matter if they got interrupted.” Tie dealt with, she started making quick work of the buttons on his shirt. “The earlier ones still count so this isn't our first date. Your dumb rule doesn't apply.”

Their proximity meant that she felt more than heard his chuckle. “That so?” The next kiss only partially succeeded at distracting her from the sensation of his fingertips tracing her spine as he unzipped her dress.

“Yes.” The back of her legs bumped against her bed, indicating that they'd _finally_ reached her bedroom. “Now shut up,” she muttered somewhat impatiently as they fell backwards onto the mattress and while Mon-El did laugh, he obliged and said no more.

It was, in Kara's book, the best (first) date she'd ever had.

**Author's Note:**

> There's that saying about how you don't choose your ships, your ships choose you and Karamel definitely did that to me BIG TIME so here I am writing fics for it (more to come in the future!).
> 
> For the sake of dodging copyright issues and if anyone was curious, the song Kara and Mon-El dance to in the fic is Paper Boats from the awesome game Transistor by Supergiant Games. It is sung by Ashley Barrett, the voice behind the game's protagonist Red (who is also the singer described in the fic). Even if you're not a gamer, I seriously recommend listening to their soundtracks. They are DIVINE.
> 
> PS: Thanks to chocaholic_78 for correcting me about Chris' eye colour which I have amended in the fic accordingly.


End file.
